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Year-End 2018 Taxes And Your Home Office Deductions

Qualifying for a home office deduction became more difficult in 2018. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which kicked in for tax year 2018, no longer allows you to claim a portion of your home as a deduction if you are someone's employee. If you're self-employed, there's no problem. Here's how the rules changed.

For years, you could deduct qualifying home office expenses provided you kept a dedicated space in your home used exclusively for business. It couldn't double as the family den, for instance. Even if you conducted business outside the house, you could take the write-off, if you used your home office to conduct business regularly.

Until 2018, working for an outside employer was okay provided you met certain tests. The big one, under the old rules: Business use must be for the convenience of your employer, and not just to make life easier for you. That's gone! If you're employed by your own company, you can still deduct your home, but you no longer are entitled to the deduction if you're an employee of a company you don't own.